Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History

Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History

The Smith-Layton Archives at the Sourisseau Academy contain historical materials that primarily document the history of the city of San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley from the late 1800s through the 20th century. The archives contains over 6,000 scanned and cataloged photographs depicting individuals, families, buildings, regions, agriculture, education, transportation, and businesses. The photographs document a broad spectrum of life, including the area’s agricultural past, its residents and their activities, and the development of the urban landscape. Included in the photograph collection are several albums from prominent local families as well as photographs of the city San Jose during the early 20th century.

Collections at this institution

The James A. Clayton Family Papers is a collection of correspondence and photographs that document life in the Clayton family of Santa Clara County during the latter half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The family correspondence records aspects of life events and personal dynamics among its members; this is especially the case with James A. Clayton and his wife Anna.

The Fred W. Crandall Photographs collection consists of twenty-nine images that chronicle approximately thirty years of Northern California agricultural history, from approximately 1883 to 1911. It includes photos of the Fred W. Crandall and William T. Rice Fruit Drying establishment in Los Gatos and the Sorosis Fruit farm in Saratoga, as well as several photographs depicting turn-of-the-century life in Los Gatos.

The Arnold Del Carlo Photograph Collection consists of photographs and negatives, which document the transformation of Santa Clara Valley from orchards to an urban landscape. The years covered by the collection range from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, and include photographs taken from the street level as well as from the air. Prominent groups of photographs include those taken of institutions such as San Jose State College, the City of San Jose, the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), and General Motors Company (GMC); of land developers and builders, and business establishments in the cities of San Jose and ...

The bulk of the Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. Papers chronicles the training and career of a professional educator and architect over the course of sixty years, from approximately 1910-1975. The collection includes professional and personal correspondence, photographs, academic documents, architectural renderings, newspaper clippings, biographical and family memoirs, and an oral interview of Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr. in 1972. The extent of the collection spans nearly 130 years, including materials and photographs created by Andrew Putnam Hill, Sr., as well as family memoirs written in the 1970s by Birdella Hill Laughlin, Andrew Putnam Hill, Jr.’s daughter.

Part of the Edith C. Smith Collection, these albums are a rare collection of photographs taken by members of this important California family of their various estates, family members and their activities, and early automobile excursions throughout Northern California.

The William H. Talbot Family Albums Collection chronicles approximately sixty years of Talbot family and business history. The collection primarily consists of three extensive family photograph albums and a small number of ephemeral materials related to Pope & Talbot, Inc. and the Talbot family.

The Clark B. Waterhouse Photograph Collection is comprised of 305 black and white photographs that were originally organized in a scrapbook. It is assumed that Waterhouse was the photographer of the collection, as the bulk of the photos are from a six-week trip he took with classmates and professors from the University of California (Berkeley) during the summer of 1916.